[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER DEN-O EPISODE 21 - "FIGHTING STYLE”




This show! When it leaves aside the overarching horseshit about destroyed timelines and displaced fiances, and settles in for an internally-generated and insanely comedic look at jealousy and resolving rivalries, it is absolutely unbeatable. The more this show focuses on a half-dozen weirdos trying to express themselves, the better it is.

I mean, god do I not care about parsing out the mysteries of Yuuto and Hana. It's a mix of contradictory theories, serious looks, pregnant pauses, and unresolved questions. It is Exhibit A in why I generally don't expend any brainpower on Kamen Rider series mysteries. They'll tell me when it's time for me to know, and every scene that addresses it prior to that point is something to be suffered through. The episode clearly shares my sense of aggrieved disinterest, since the choreography in the early exposition is jaw-droppingly clever and distracting.

Like, I couldn't be less interested in the equivocations of Owner, but that whole choreographed routine he did with Ryuta! WHAT! The bit where Ryuta drops the cane onto Owner's ankle, and Owner kicks it up into his own hand?! The whole thing would be needlessly showy, if it weren't for so much of the dialogue being a boring recitation of Time Nonsense. As it is, the weird posing and dancing was the best part of that scene!

Everything after that is non-stop greatness, though. After an overly-seasoned meal of otherwise bland meat, here's a nearly episode-length dessert.

There's a plot in here (Ryuta is jealous of Yuuto's history with Airi), and maybe a theme (disciplining children?), but it's all so secondary to how unrelentingly fun this episode is. It's both ludicrously funny and thrillingly adventurous, a combo that I have no defense against.

The comedy is mostly Deneb-related and, yeah: maybe the best character on the show? His pure-heartedness and too-trusting nature makes him an amazing comedy partner for the perpetually grumpy and accusatory Yuuto. Having a plot where Deneb dresses up in a tiger costume so a vendor can take a nap, and that's an episode-long runner... insane. That is lightning in a bottle, and I can only imagine how thrilled the production team was when they saw the first cut of this episode. Literally every Deneb gag in this killed. The physical comedy never stopped cracking me up, with the pinnacle being this gif that I will probably laugh at forever:



The DenLiner Imagin don't fare much worse, comedically, since it's the Grown-Ups trying to wrangle Ryuta and it does not go well. The escalation of Ryuta's drawings covering more and more of the floor, and the Imagin treating them like hot lava... it's just more expert choreography in an episode already brimming over with it.

Which, yeah, that's why the Gun Form vs Altair Form fight is so good! There's so much fluidity to each fighter's moves, and the editing really lets the stunt performers show off. Cuts are spread out to really sell how serious this fight is, how it's potentially fatal to Zeronos. You get these disorienting shots from Den-O and these desperate swings from Zeronos, tense dodges and strategic reversals. Just a nail-biting action finish to a consistently entertaining episode.

This one was a real winner. I don't have a lick of interest in Hana's lost timeline (and I like Hana!) or Yuuto's mysterious history (and I like Yuuto!), but when this episode put that stuff to bed and just relaxed, I was having a great time. Fun-ass show, you guys.



THE BAGGAGE CAR

- ...I just want to watch that gif again.